Need to Know
by renisanz
Summary: She could fight. It was that solitary fact that had been nagging in the back of his mind. Now, as she stood before him more questions popped into his mind. He wanted to know more about her. Set after The Prodigal. Ronon/Amelia.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Need to Know**  
Author:** renisanz**  
Summary: **She could _fight_. It was that solitary fact that had been nagging in the back of his mind. Now, as she stood before him more questions popped into his mind.**  
Category:** General/Friendship**  
Rating: **PG**  
Warning/Spoilers:** Set after "The Prodigal"**  
Disclaimer: **I don't own these character. I'm using them for fun, not profit.**  
Notes:** I'm treading carefully into this new Ronon/Amelia ship, so your feedback on this story would be so very much appreciated. Enjoy. :)

* * *

"Hey."

She spun around at his voice, her body ready to spring into action. A defensive reflex. Her hair was pulled back and gathered at a loose bun at the nape of her neck, a less severe style then he was used to seeing.

Once she realized who he was, she visibly relaxed, dropping her arms loosely to her sides.

"Sorry..." she said before he could apologize for startling her. "Been a bit on edge these last few days, ya know?"

Yeah. He nodded in response. Michael trying to take over Atlantis was definitely reason to be "on edge."

That was why he was here now, having ventured down to the workout area to try to release all the pent up energy that had built up over the last few days after the attack. Being stuck in the infirmary for the last several days hadn't helped either. The Wraith hybrid was dead, supposedly. They still had yet to bring up his body to confirm, but it was highly unlikely that he had survived the fall. And even if he had, there was no was no way for him to get off the planet, as McKay had pointed out. Sheppard seemed pretty certain that they would find some trace of him.

He really hoped they did, if anything, to put Teyla's fears completely at ease. Forever.

"You here for a late night spar?" Banks' voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Something like that," he replied.

"Don't you usually need a partner for that?" she questioned, taking a few steps toward him.

"Yeah, usually," he couldn't help but smirk. "Sheppard's not in the mood to get beat up, though."

She smiled at that, wiping a hand across her forehead in what looked like an attempt to hide the full radiance of her smile. He wished that she didn't. "Are you?" she questioned after a moment, and Ronon was taken aback by the forwardness of her words. She wasn't backing down, wasn't looking away like others might.

So this was the other side of Amelia Banks, the Gate Tech. Why hadn't he noticed her before?

"Should you even be here?" she asked, gesturing around the open space of the gym.

"Why not?"

"Because...I recall hearing something about you being thrown off a balcony in the control tower barely a week ago," Amelia reminded him, the incredulity evident in her tone as she crossed her bare arms over her chest.

At that, Ronon rolled his eyes and did the same dismissive gesture he'd given to Woolsey when the man had come to visit (and commend) him while he'd been confined to the infirmary. He'd survived worse.

Still, he did not like the idea of anyone giving Keller wind of his whereabouts, especially after she'd given explicit instructions on rehabilitation of his injuries. Despite the lingering awkwardness that existed between him and CMO, he still admired her dedication to the well-being of her patients.

"You come here a lot?" Ronon said trying to change the subject, and immediately winced mentally, as he realized it sounded like a bad line that desperate guys used to get women. "I mean, I've never seen you in training sessions and stuff," he tried to explain.

Amelia nodded her understanding. "No. I mean, I'm rather rusty. I've been kickboxing for five years, but haven't been practicing like I should."

He thought she did ok against the hybrid, and he told her so.

She eyes narrowed, and she looked as if she didn't believe him. "I was scared half to death," she breathed. Then, she raised her chin and inclined her head. "I guess, that's the point though, right?"

"You never had to fight before?" Ronon picked up on it from her lack of confidence.

"Not like that, no. I've sparred before in classes...but that guy...hybrid...thing," she mumbled, trying to find the right word to describe one of Michael's abominations. "I put all I had into him, and he still didn't go down," she looked away from him then, and shook her head. It was still hard for her to wrap her mind around.

"You did good, trust me," Ronon assured her.

He wondered why she tried so hard not to smile, but a rosy tint colored her cheeks all the same. "We're still here," she mused, seeming to finally accept the compliment.

"Yeah. We are," Ronon agreed. He regretted that he hadn't gotten to know her sooner. She was...nice. However, recalling what had happened with Jennifer, he wasn't sure how Amelia would perceive his efforts to get to know her better. She could already be involved with someone else, for all he knew, but...did he care about that at this point?

But she could fight. That's what had gotten his attention about her. He had been truly shocked at her skill, and he prided himself on being an observant person. It was one of the things that had kept him alive during his years as a Runner.

She could _fight_. It was that solitary fact that had been nagging in the back of his mind. Now, as she stood before him more questions popped into his mind.

He wanted to know more about her.

And, since there were both "still here," maybe he could.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

"Did you know she could fight?"

Teyla glanced away from the monitor in front of her to look at the Satedan sprawled on the couch beside her.

"You did not?"

"No," Ronon admitted, and it was then that she turned to fully regard him.

Ronon's attention though, was turned to the bundle of child squirming in his lap. Torren was trying to climb the big man using his dreads as leverage. It wasn't quite working out for the little one, and seemed to be rather painful for Ronon.

Ronon finally looked up at her. "What?"

Teyla kept her face neutral and only shrugged lightly before turning back to the screen. If Ronon choose not to elaborate in his sudden curiosity about Amelia, she wasn't going to press the issue.

"Wait...how did you know she could fight?"

Teyla continued to type as she responded. "I was only became aware of Amelia's skills for a short time." She hoped Ronon would accept her brief explanation. There was more to the story, but she did not wish to break Amelia's confidence unnecessarily.

Out the corner of her eyes, she saw him nod and lean back against the arm of the couch with one arm holding Torren against this chest.

She was able to finish typing a total of two more sentences before she felt his weight shift on the end of the couch.

"So, uh...you sparred with her before?"

"I have yet to have the pleasure."

She didn't look at Ronon and only heard silence from his end.

So she began typing once more.

"How do you know she can fight?"

At that Teyla hung her head in exasperation. "Ronon," she said calmly as she turned to her friend, "Is there some point to this line of questioning, or are you purposely trying to distract me from completing this report?"

Ronon met her eye, his gaze unwavering and his face a mask. "No."

It was in this moment that Teyla wished she had a banto with which to whack him. There was most assuredly more than he was telling her.

"Do you not have a report of your own to complete?" Teyla asked pointedly.

"Done."

Teyla turned to look at him, disbelieving. "By 'done' you mean...?"

"Like, I did it," Ronon shrugged. Filed it with Woolsey over a week ago."

_How is this possible_, Teyla thought. As far as she knew, Ronon had never filed a mission report, at least, not in a timely manner.

Ronon must have read her expression. "Yeah. Woolsey called me out on it. Gave me this thing," he reached in his pocket and pulled out a small recording device. "I talk into it and then they plug it into the computer. Files it automatically. S'pretty cool."

Teyla took the device from his fingers and studied it. She found the icon indicating the button to play the recording and pressed it.

"Mission Report. Michael invaded Atlantis, tried to blow it up. We stopped him. End of report."

Teyla blinked.

"This from the man who used to recite poetry?"

"Hey, we agreed never to talk about that," Ronon said with mock annoyance. "Anyway," he continued, "that was a different person...not me anymore." Ronon's eyes let her face and looked down at Torren, who was well on his way to the nap Teyla had been unable to settle him down for. She had never been able to get him sleep without doing an exhaustive course of laps through the halls of the city and then back to her quarters.

At times Teyla was truly baffled at how such a man as Ronon Dex could have so much strength to lend to those he considered family, but then have nothing left over for himself when it came to having confidence in the latent gifts that extended beyond his physical abilities.

Teyla shook her head as she returned her attention to the computer screen. She spared a final glance at Ronon, and saw that his eyes were closed and he was fully relaxed into the comfort of the sofa; she took full advantage of the quiet time to finish her report.

Ronon allowed himself to drift into a light sleep. He cracked his eyes open when he heard the soft click that was Teyla closing up her laptop. He watched in silence as she stood up from her seat and crossed the room, placing the computer on her desk. He saw her pick up something—a book maybe—before she turned back around, walking over to stand beside him. She reached down and took Torren from his arms, careful not to stir the little one too much.

She dropped the book in Ronon's lap before turning to place Torren in his crib.

"What's this?" Ronon asked, as he turned the book over in his hand to inspect the front cover.

"You desire to know more about Amelia," Teyla stated. Ronon caught the slight question in her tone.

Ronon nodded, looking from the book to the Athosian.

"She let me borrow this book. It is a collection of the works of some of her favorite poets.

"Perhaps now would be the time to put aside your ignorant barbarian routine. Not everything of your old life should be lost and forgotten, Ronon."

Ronon met Teyla's steady gaze at that, but didn't respond. He was quite fond of his so-called "ignorant barbarian" routine, especially since it had thus far allowed him to avoid the paperwork that the IOA liked so much. Who really cared about the details of what happened as long as everyone got home safe and any potential threat to Atlantis or Pegasus was quelled? The less information aside from the pertinent facts the IOA people had to criticize and second-guess, the better.

He opened the front cover and saw writing on first blank page in the top left corner.

_Amy Banks_.

He flipped through the cream colored pages, finally stopping to smooth down the pages on an illustration that caught his eye.

He read.

. . . . . . . . . .

_A/N: Thanks to **journeyman07** for the beta. I really appreciate all of your encouraging comments on the first chapter. There is more to come._


End file.
